Keynotes: Two Centuries of Design

r.*i :«:

Robert Wood Johnson, Jr. Recent Acquisitions Gallery May 29 —November 29, 1985 This exhibition has been made possible by Reliance Group Holdings Inc. '•UM U.v •'• ¿il.

-4pvn:.; s

THF. METRI POI /..!'. MUSEUM OF ART • ARCHIVES Keynotes: Two Centuries of Piano Design

Laurence Libin Curator Department of Musical Instruments

© 1985 The Metropolitan Museum of Art Forward

Keynotes: Two Centuries of Piano Design offers a drivers and cars. Today's are relatively selection from over 70 pianos in the Museum's standardized and audiences have few opportunities collection. Not even the entire group could to compare different brands. Yet, as late as 1900 comprehensively survey the history of this most each musical capital espoused locally made pianos, familiar instrument, so we have not tried to show as they did distinctive local beers. In Vienna alone every stage of the piano's evolution but rather to during Beethoven's lifetime scores of piano makers illustrate interesting aspects of piano design during vied for endorsements. the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Many of Despite occasional limp-eared assertions that the these examples are handsome pieces of furniture; modern concert grand is superior to any earlier others, such as the oldest piano in the world (no. piano, the best older instruments were perfectly 3), are most important from a historical standpoint. suited to their tasks. Sensitive composers precisely All have distinctive musical qualities. exploited their pianos' capabilities and worked Within 200 years of its invention shortly before within their limits; except under the hands of 1700, the piano had become a basic tool for music extraordinary artists, modern pianos are no more education, a status symbol, and a major item of apt for Classical intimacy and nuance than the international commerce. It brought nearly the entire Concorde jet is for crop dusting. Each instrument repertoire of Western music under the pianist's has its place. We cannot know how Mozart would command through transcriptions, and inspired have written for today's pianos, but he was certainly Classical and Romantic masterworks. So inspired by his own. This exhibition aims to recall complicated did the piano's mechanism become, the variety, novelty, and quality of old pianos, and that its routine maintenance gave rise to a to encourage exploration of their merits. specialized profession; regrettably, this distanced most players from knowledge of their instruments' workings, much as auto mechanics stand between Pitch is indicated by the following system:

g va

etc. * CC 8v;> Cc c1 c2 c3 c4 1 Square Piano

Unknown maker, Germany, late eighteenth century incidental factor. The undamped notes overlap and Practically the smallest, simplest piano imaginable, fade gradually, obtaining resonance at the expense this "square" is a cleverly designed commercial of clarity. product, not a homemade folk instrument. It was Obscure during the Baroque era, the piano considered a household appliance rather than a toy, achieved prominence after 1760 as the keyboard though its narrow C-f3 keyboard nicely suits a polyphony of Bach's generation gave way to the child's hand. The mechanism, which owes nothing thinner-textured, dynamically expressive Classical to Cristofori's sophisticated invention (no. 3), style. Then, under the impact of social and involves only two moving parts: the , and a lever technological revolutions, its growth was explosive. hinged to it that thrusts the wedge-shaped hammer Between this square and the following one (no. 2), upward when pinched at the other end against an made perhaps 60 years later, lies a world of overhanging rail. Each hammer strikes a single difference. In contrast, the modern piano has not damperless string. changed significantly in the last century. The square piano derives its form from the Gift of Bernardus Boekelman, 1911 . Unlike a clavichord's key-embedded 11.176.4 tangents which contact the strings while they sound and absorb some of their vibration, a piano's hammers bounce away so the strings vibrate freely. One advantage of this system lies in the lever that accelerates the hammer's motion, affording a stronger blow and louder sound. The point at which the hammer strikes is a crucial determinant of tone quality. This tiny piano's timbre, however, is an 2 Square Piano

Nunns & Clark, , 1853 assembled from components that include a pipe Built in the year of New York's Crystal Palace brace across the front; one-piece cast-iron frames, exhibition, this carved rosewood piano celebrates developed in Boston, were not generally adopted ostentatious taste. Renaissance architecture and by New York builders before the Steinway era, ornament inspired its ornate case. Polychrome which began the year this piano was made. foliage and flowers decorate the iron frame within. Robert Nunns and John Clark were English The AAA-a4 keyboard has mother-of-pearl naturals immigrants who entered partnership here in 1833- and tortoise-shell accidentals with abalone inserts. Nunns's brother, William, helped establish their A concavity in the front molding fits a round factory at Setauket, Long Island; later, he started a medallion centered on a removable panel. This separate firm that employed the young William medallion displays bas-relief profiles of a lady and Steinway. Inside this piano are the names of several gentleman, probably the original owners, together journeymen. David Perrin, the key maker, was first with two dolphins and a trident representing the listed in city directories as a butcher. He and 82 co­ whaling trade. workers produced 300 pianos worth $150,000 in Two pedals in a massive support control the 1855 alone, placing Nunns & Clark in the first rank dampers and interpose cloth muting strips between of New York builders before the Civil War. hammers and strings. The felt-covered hammers Gift of George Lowther, 1906 may have been made by a newly patented machine 06.1312.1 that Nunns & Clark bought in 1853- An advanced "French rocker" allows convenient regulation of the heavy touch. The iron frame is 3 Grand Piano

Bartolomeo Cristofori, Florence, Italy, 1720 for (gravicembalo col piano e forte, This is the oldest extant piano. A result of "harpsichord with [graduated] soft and loud," experiments dating back to the 1690s when its hence "pianoforte" or simply "piano"), the inventor left his native Padua for employment at the instrument's possibilities interested adventurous Medici court, this durable instrument has remained composers such as Domenico Scarlatti. The first in use for 265 years. Repairs and modifications published piano music, which employs gradual and begun in the eighteenth century include altering sudden dynamic changes, was Lodovico Giustini's the compass from FF-c3 (omitting FF-sharp and GG- seminal book of sonatas printed at Florence in 1732, sharp) to the present C-f % rehinging the hammers the year after Cristofori's death. and replacing their hollow parchment heads with The Marchese Scipione Maffei wrote a description solid wood ones, and installing a new soundboard. of Cristofori's pianos in 1711; a German translation The structure, however, remains essentially intact. appeared in 1725 and was reprinted five times Two similar, later Cristofori pianos survive. before 1800. In 1736 the Saxon court organ builder, Cristofori did more than devise a pressure- , showed a piano he had sensitive hammer mechanism to supercede the copied from Cristofori's design to J. S. Bach, who harpsichord's plucking action. In this piano he found it tonally weak and hard to play. Later, Bach elevated the hitchpin rail off the soundboard to free approved Silbermann's efforts and acted as his agent more vibrating area. Below this rail the soundboard in selling a piano. The Cristofori-Silbermann model, rests on a wall isolated from the painted outer case; derived from the Italian harpsichord, became the braces penetrate this wall to buttress the bent side prototype of the modern grand piano. against the strings' pull. Most importantly, this The Crosby Brown Collection, 1895 piano's tone quality changes markedly from to 89.4.1219 treble; the bass is warm and reedy, the treble duller Ex coll.: Cosimo III de' Medici; Grand Ducal Palace, and short-sustaining. Sienna; Dr. Fabbio Mocenni; Ernesta Martelli Cristofori's invention was intended for chamber (loaned to the National Museum, Florence); Diego music, where its dynamic expressiveness is most Martelli, Florence effective. First considered a radically different type

4 "Lying Harp" Piano

Johann Matthäus Schmabl, Ulm, Germany, ca. 1770 the bridge and interpose leather tabs between the Mozart allegedly practiced on a piano of this type bare wood hammers and strings. The unusually while he travelled. Its shape resembles a small harp narrow C-f3 keyboard has bone slips covering the laid sideways with its curved neck at the right. The accidentals and embossed paper fronts on the case is of pear and false-grained softwood. Thick notched and double-scored fruitwood naturals. varnish, legs, and base are later additions. Schmahl came from a large family of Swabian The two-part action consists of the key and the keyboard makers. He apparently made many pianos hammer lever pivoted above it on a cord drawn of this distinctive shape, only one of which survives through a comb-like frame. A short post fixed to with his signature. each key transmits its motion to the hammer lever. The Crosby Brown Collection, 1889 The whole action slides out through an opening in 89.4.2910 the back. Lacking dampers, the single-strung piano has a lingering tone. Hand stops lower a mute over 5 Square Piano (Pantaleon)

Johann Christoph Jeckel and Christian Jeckel, The oak-veneered case, which rests on a separate Worms, Germany, 1790 stand, has ornamental inlay over the ebony and A handwritten label beneath the soundboard bone FF-f 3 keyboard. Wood-grained paper covers identifies this piano as a Bandlony, a dialectal the interior walls. A lidded compartment at the left variant of "pantaleon." This word normally denotes holds tuning equipment. The key levers, carved like a hammer dulcimer supposedly made by Gottfried clavichord keys, recall the square piano's origin at Silbermann and popularized by Pantaleon the hands of German clavichord makers around Hebenstreit, a famous virtuoso. His name was 1740. This example closely resembles a clavichord retained for some pianos that imitate the sounds made by Christian Gottlob Hubert of Ansbach in Hebenstreit produced by using hard and soft 1782, now in the Museum's collection. dulcimer beaters. The Crosby Brown Collection, 1906 This piano's unpadded hammers give the effect of 89.4.3552 hard beaters. Six hand stops below the keys operate Ex coll.: Paul de Wit, Leipzig tone modifiers: leather pads interposed between hammers and strings, giving the effect of soft beaters; a cloth fringe lowered onto the strings; and dampers (normally these are disengaged, leaving the strings free to resonate). The stops are divided to affect bass and treble strings separately; thus, considerable tonal variety is possible. 6 Square Piano

Jobann Jacob Seydel, Vienna, Austria, 1792-95 (Kapseis) in which the hammer levers pivot behind Squares were unusual in the output of Viennese the keys. The keys' motion is transmitted to the builders before 1800, judging by the rarity of hammers by spring-loaded escapement jacks like surviving examples. Seydel, however, was a native those in English pianos of the same period. of Brunswick in northern Germany, and his piano Rebounding, the hammers are caught by shows northern traits in its action design, double- backchecks. The range is five octaves, FF-f 3. scored natural keys highlighted with vermilion, and Purchase, The Crosby Brown Collection, by soundhole with paper rosette. The brass-beaded exchange, and Gift of Dr. Robert G. Thorpe, by mahogany case with canted front corners and exchange,1978 crossbanded lid (papered in a geometric pattern 1978.372 beneath) is dated 1792 on its oval nameplate and 1795 on a label inside. Knee levers control a mute and raise the dampers which pivot on arms in a rack above the strings. A silk panel below the strings conceals the key levers. Seydel is supposed to have invented the brass forks •/jfÂftSffft />//r?/S//?t Sff/St t %**/*f rtf/ff/.r f**9t&,i Sfff ,>/./• f y fff i

%.í.

Àww ,/./—-,..„ /,*/*,. 7

Unknown maker, Austria, ca. 1800 because the orphica is actually rather ungainly and This portable harp-piano was invented by Carl not so simple to tune as a guitar, it had only a brief Leopold Roll ig of Vienna around 1795. It can be vogue. This example has an F-f3 range with small held across the lap or suspended from the neck like keys operating a standard Viennese action. There is a guitar. The orphica (from Greek, Orpheus) one undamped string per note. appealed mainly to amateurs who enjoyed The Crosby Brown Collection, 1889 its graceful shape, popular repertoire, familiar 89.4.1246 keyboard technique, and portability. However, ?i

Viennese action 8 Square Piano

Corneille Charles Emanuel van der Does, the others, and the curved satinwood nameboard Amsterdam, , ca. 1800 encroaches on the extreme keys at both ends. The van der Does firm still operates in The Hague The mahogany case with inlaid striping rests on a where it moved in 1840 under direction of the separate stand arched in front for the player's knees. founder's son. Corneille van der Does, a native of A knee lever lifts the dampers. Folding handles on Voorburg, copied current English designs. This either side, possibly additions, facilitate moving. piano employs an English-type "double action," There is no music rack. With only one string per which has an intermediate lever between the key note and a diminutive soundboard, the piano has a and hammer shank. The 15 topmost strings, which tone proportional to its size. lack dampers, are struck through an opening at the The Crosby Brown Collection, 1906 back of the soundboard, another English 06.1243 innovation. This arrangement and the piano's slightly undersize keys allow room for a C-n compass, larger than normal for an instrument of this width. The highest natural key is narrower than 9 Musical Clock

Unknown maker, Germany, ca. 1800 within, but it is uncertain whether these are the Musical clocks are common, but examples with makers. Above the carved poplar clock face is a sounding strings rather than organ pipes or chimes musical trophy of a and trumpet (female and are almost unknown. This charming clock has two male symbols) bound by a ribbon. A similarly parts: the weight-driven clockwork mechanism painted and parcel-gilt panel covering the consisting of going, striking, and cylinder trains soundbox frames a shepherdess and flock above regulated by a pendulum with anchor escapement; another trophy. and a rectangular soundbox with 16 undamped Gift of Helen C. Lanier, 1983 trichords struck by hammers activated hourly by a 1983.108 brass-pinned cylinder. A bell atop the clock strikes the quarters. The strings can be muted by a hand- operated, padded batten. Similar in principle to the later street piano (no. 31), this clock is of provincial workmanship and probably comes from the Black Forest. The names Martin Vanlo and Pallas Maier Driele are written 10 Pedal Grand Piano

Johann Schmidt, Salzburg?, Austria, ca. 1790 The FF-f 3 keyboard of stained fruitwood and bone Although generally believed to have been an has a light, sensitive touch capable of fast repetition. organist's practice instrument, the has a Efficient dampers provide crisp articulation. small repertoire of its own. Mozart acquired such a A printed label falsely ascribes this cherrywood piano in 1785; his D-minor concerto, K. 466, piano to Jean André Stein of Augsburg, but it has properly requires pedals for notes below the been attributed to Johann Schmidt on the basis of ordinary manual compass. This piano's pedals similarities between this and signed examples of control independent hammers that strike the same Schmidt's work. Unfortunately, since several strings as the lowest 13 manual keys, plus five contemporary builders were named Johann Schmidt further bass notes. The pedals are arranged in a it is not certain by which one this piano was built. "" where certain keys are pitched lower One possibility is a former employee of Stein who than they appear: the GG-sharp pedal sounds EE, became court organ builder at Salzburg in 1785 on FF-sharp sounds DD, the lowest EE sounds CC. The the recommendation of Leopold Mozart. The name lowest eight pedals also activate hammers an octave W A. Mozart and initials W.A.M. are scratched on the higher to reinforce the tone. When not in use the piano's front panel. pedals can be covered by a hinged foot rest. The Crosby Brown Collection, 1889 Knee levers control the dampers and mute stop, 89.4.3182 and a hand lever engages a register (a Ex coll.: Paul de Wit, Leipzig parchment tube that buzzes against the lowest 26 pairs of strings). The bassoon effect is appropriate in pieces such as Mozart's "Turkish" rondo, which imitates the percussive jangle of a janizary band. 11 Grand Piano

Ferdinand Hofmann, Vienna, Austria, ca. 1790 music rack fold back when the piano is used, and This beautifully preserved cherrywood piano is the these panels are finished on both sides. Sockets for older of two Hofmann grands in the Museum's candlesticks flank the music rack. collection. The serial number 10 is inscribed on the Gift of Géraldine C. Herzfeld, in memory of her late tuning pin block. A label on the soundboard husband, Monroe Eliot Hemmerdinger, 1984 identifies Hofmann as a member of the civic 1984.34 keyboard-makers' association, of which he became president in 1808. He achieved a court appointment several years later. This piano's unusually fine appearance suggests a wealthy customer. The cloth- backed music rack and arcade over the keys are striking; the brass hardware may be custom-made. A geometric pattern ornaments the front of the ebony and bone keyboard. Musically, the five-octave FF-P piano is typical of Mozart's era. Knee levers lift the dampers and a knob over the enamel nameplate operates a mute stop or moderator. The panelled lid is unfinished under the main flap, indicating that it was normally kept closed. Contemporary pictures generally show pianos in domestic situations being played with the lid down. Hinged panels over the keyboard and 12 Grand Piano

Joseph Böhm, Vienna, Austria, ca. 1820 "Turkish" effect (bells and a drumstick that beat the This sumptuous instrument of Beethoven's era is soundboard) in addition to the existing dampers said to have belonged to Empress Marie Louise, and una corda shift. The FF-f4 keyboard is faced second wife of Napoleon, when she was Grand with bone and has stained hardwood accidentals. Duchess of Parma. It was purchased in 1905 by an Böhm invented a transposing keyboard and an Austrian nobleman from the daughter of a lady in automatic page-turner, neither of which appears waiting to the Empress and was later displayed in here. the Archduke Karl exhibition at Vienna's Museum Purchase, Rogers Fund; Mr. and Mrs. Thatcher M. für Kunst und Industrie. Joseph Böhm, an Brown III, Mr. and Mrs. Philip J. Hess, Carroll Music acquaintance of Antonio Salieri, obviously attracted Instrument Service Corp., The New York Flute Club, a wealthy clientele. The piano's abundant mercury- Inc. and Piano Technicians' Guild Gifts; Gifts of Mrs. gilt mounts depict grape vines, scrolling acanthus Etta M. Helmer, Alice Getty, Mr. and Mrs. Henry leaves with feather plumes, and on the front panel Wellman, Mr. and Mrs. Peter M. F. Sichel, Craig E. an image of Psyche at a tripod brazier. Gilded eagle Steese, Hilda Katz, Mr. and Mrs. Arthur A. Travis and capitals on the sinuous legs recall Empire style, but The Crosby Brown Collection of Musical the choice of light-colored, highly figured elm Instruments, by exchange; and funds from various veneer is typically Viennese. donors, 1982. The lid interior and soundboard surrounds are 1982.138 unfinished except for the folding front flaps which Ex. coll.: Marie Louise, Grand Duchess of Parma; are veneered on both sides. The undecorated back Angelo Franz Viktor, Baron Eisner von Eisenhof; Dr. side would normally be placed against a wall. Frank Willfort (Loaned to Museum für Kunst und Pedals appeared in Viennese pianos around 1810. Industrie, Vienna) This grand's original pedal support in the form of a griffin was lost during World War II. Formerly, its five pedals operated a bassoon register, mute, and 1 13 Grand Piano

Heinrich Engelhard Stein weg, Seesen, Germany, bone-covered naturals and stained hardwood ca. 1835-40 accidentals which pass through a notched fascia This is the oldest known grand by the founder of board. Pedals control the dampers which pivot in a the Steinway dynasty, who anglicized his name after frame above the strings, and a mute. There are three emigrating to New York in 1850. The nature of his strings per note except for the lowest seven which training is obscure but he was probably building are double-strung. pianos on a small scale by 1830. The oldest dated It is instructive to compare this early Steinweg Steinweg, a square of 1836 also loaned to the with the nearly contemporary Erard grand (no. 24) Museum by Steinway & Sons, closely resembles this which is in every respect more sophisticated. Yet, grand in workmanship and cabinetry. The case is of before Steinweg died in 1871, his New York factory figured mahogany with inlaid striping; the back was producing the most advanced pianos in the employs a plainer veneer. Around the soundboard, world (no. 32). the interior has a contrasting lighter veneer with Loaned by Steinway & Sons, 1983 dark stripes. Octagonal tapering legs and a flat pedal L1983.2.1 lyre are typical of the mid-nineteenth century. The Viennese-type action, which employs whittled hammers, rests on the usual sled that must be pulled out to lower the action before it can be removed. The FF-f4 keyboard has long, narrow f ^*¿¿¿7Í< íK^.*3. ^U-.«4 t=Ò

Equipment for tuning the piano 14 Work Box Piano

Unknown maker, Austria? ca. 1830-40 no dampers. The lowest three octaves have one This delightful combination of a miniature piano string per note; the top octave is double-strung. The with a rosewood sewing box or dressing case, on a soundboard extends over the key levers and tuning carved acanthus pedestal over a footed base, was pins are arranged at the front. Ivory knobs flanking imported and sold in Philadelphia by Sarah Hart & the keyboard aid in withdrawing the action for Son, dealers in portable desks and dressing cases, maintenance. stationery, and perfume. The inlaid lid surface bears The Crosby Brown Collection, 1889 an American eagle over a musical trophy, 89.4.1204 surrounded by a wreath of oak and laurel. A hinged Ex coll.: Sarah Frishmuth, Philadelphia looking glass can prop the lid. Small compartments and spools of thread occupy a removable tray over the strings. Forty-nine diminutive keys (f-f4) operate a typical Viennese action with leathered hammers. There are 15 Upright "Giraffe" Piano

Friedrich Bernhard Voigt, Berlin, Germany, an unusual EE-f4 range, one note more than six ca. 1835 octaves. The EE key may have been included for This upright style, which originated in Vienna symmetry with the top key. Although Voigt's around 1798, derives its nickname from the tall, engraved label identifies him as a court-appointed graceful curve of its neck, terminating here with builder, this piano's plain mahogany case suggests a scrolls at either end. Although the shape recalls a middle-class destination. grand piano turned on end, the tuning pins are Loaned by Lotta Van Buren, 1928 arranged along the curve rather than behind the L2866 keys where they would interfere with the action. The distance between the bass keys and tuning pins at the top of the case makes tuning an awkward procedure. Cloth-panelled doors beneath the keyboard give access to the pedal mechanism and lower ends of the strings. Four brass-covered pedals operate the dampers, una corda shift, and a divided mute (not installed). The long, narrow, ivory and ebony keys encompass 16 Upright "Lyre" Piano

Johann Christian Schleip, Berlin, ca. 1830 a distinction between cabinet and keyboard The Orphic lyre, Classical symbol of concord, was a instrument making, the latter a trade combining favorite Empire and Biedermeier motif. Lyre-shaped joinery with mechanics. pianos were a specialty of Schleip. This example is The upright piano's vertical strings and veneered with jacaranda, preferred in Berlin to soundboard project sound into a room without lighter woods for setting off gilt ornaments. The needing a reflective lid. The soundboard area is lyre's arms terminate in griffin heads flanking a equivalent to a grand piano's, but the spring- fruit-filled urn. Rosette buttons operate latches that assisted action is not so sensitive. Pianos such as secure the cloth panel. Three pedals in another lyre this, which stand against a wall, were not suited for control dampers, una corda, and a bassoon register. concert stages but were handsome, space-saving Gilded lion paws on the front feet are a further parlor pieces. Classical allusion. The elongated keys span an Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Theodore R. Sayers, 1968 unusually wide CC-a^ range. The maker's name is 68.47 lettered on a milk glass plaque. Even today, a few furnishings other than pianos so prominently advertise their makers' names; this tradition reflects

17 Cabinet Upright Piano

Firth, Hall & Pond, New York City, 1835 The Yorkshire native John Firth and his New York- Forming an interesting stylistic contrast to the Loud born partner William Hall married daughters of the & Brothers upright (no. 25), this neo-classical piano prominent woodwind maker and music publisher recalls the furniture designs of Joseph Meeks & Edward Riley. They were joined around 1833 by Sons. As in New York pier tables, square tapered Sylvanus Pond, a piano maker from Albany. Firth, legs with fluted corners and Ionic capitals support Hall & Pond were major musical retailers and the keybed in front of pilasters of the same order. publishers; many kinds of instruments were sold The FF-f4 keyboard is enclosed by a cylinder fall under their name, but who actually built them bearing a recessed paper label engraved by W. F. remains a mystery. Han ison, a well-known designer of bank notes. The Gift of Miss Justine Watson, 1944 mahogany case is fronted by a sunburst panel 44.57 radiating from a rose-wreathed head of Apollo. This mercury-gilt mount and those on the flanking columns probably came from France. An architectural cornice with egg-and-dart molding surmounts the case. Pedals control the dampers and una corda shift. 18 Euphonicon

F. Beale and Company, , England, 1843 The piano is double-strung, the tenor notes each No less romantic than the poetry of Wordsworth, the having a single wire bent around a pair of hitchpins Euphonicon (from Greek euphonos, "sweet- to provide two strings, while the treble and bass voiced") was patented by John Stewart of strings are individually looped. The top 23 notes, Wolverhampton in 1841 and briefly manufactured lacking dampers, vibrate sympathetically, adding a under his supervision by Beale's firm. Intricate mysterious resonance to the dull tone produced by hand-painted designs and brackets resembling fat felt hammers. Damper and una corda pedals Spanish moss soften the industrial aspect of the modify the sound. solid iron frame. The base, veneered with Delicate carving above the keyboard and a extravagantly figured Macassar ebony, encloses a graceful lyre-form music rack contribute to an effect somewhat clumsy action suspended below the CC- of lightness that belies the piano's great weight. c4 keyboard. The tuning mechanism behind cloth- Decorated on all sides, the Euphonicon is intended backed scrollwork panels employs threaded rods to be free-standing, an advantage over conventional rather than tuning pins to stretch the strings. uprights that stand against a wall. A similar style of Protruding above the base, three soundboxes piano with an open harp-like frame was popular in replace the usual soundboard; inspired by the the United States around I860. violin, these chambers have internal ribs and Gift of Mrs. Greenfield Sluder, 1944 soundposts. Soundholes on the front and scrollwork 44.58 panels on the back let the sound out. 19 Square Piano

Johann Christoph Zumpe, London, England, 1767 This plain mahogany piano, one of the oldest Zumpe had a pivotal role in transmitting German extant Zumpes, has a GG-f3 compass; the GG-sharp piano design to England, where he pioneered key is a dummy. The keyboard is of rough commercial piano manufacture. Reputedly a workmanship and some of the double-scored ivory disciple of Gottfried Silvermann, Zumpe left a naturals are old replacements. Two brass-knobbed Germany impoverished by the Seven Years' War and hand stops at the left operate a divided damper settled in London, where the upper class mechanism; the overhead damper arms are retained enthusiastically welcomed his pianos in preference by whalebone springs. As in a clavichord, the tuning to old-fashioned . Johann Christian Bach, pins are clustered at the right side of the case. There Queen Charlotte's music master, first performed a are two strings for each note. The action is a piano solo before the English public in 1768 on a simplified version of Cristofori's, lacking Zumpe square; Bach's endorsement of the intermediate lever and escapement jack. There is no instrument helped guarantee its acceptance despite music rack and no provision for propping the lid its considerable cost. Zumpe made a fortune and open. retired to Germany, leaving the field clear for The Crosby Brown Collection, 1889 builders such as John Broadwood (no. 20) to refine 89.4.2965 and enlarge the English square and reduce its cost through mass production. English single action 20 Square Piano

John Broadwood and Son, London, England, 1797 compass to FF-c4; brass damper levers pivot In 1770 Broadwood became a partner of the beneath the strings; tuning pins are placed along harpsichord maker Burkat Shudi, and in 1782 he the back of the case rather than clustered at the became the firm's sole proprietor. Demand for right. The quiet, counterweighted underdampers Broadwood pianos had spread as far as Haiti and proved too costly and difficult to regulate but the Moscow by the time this inlaid, crossbanded tuning pin arrangement, which better distributed mahogany square was built. Thomas Jefferson had the stress and eased tuning, was widely copied. This visited the large manufactory and John Jacob Astor piano lacks any damper control; the pedal raises a retailed Broadwood's pianos in New York. The firm front flap of the lid over the soundboard for a was to continue until the 1980s. This model, far crescendo effect. A music rack is formed by the removed from the simplicity of Zumpe's squares folded-back key flap, and another rack unfolds (no. 19), cost considerably less than a new Zumpe behind the nameboard when the entire lid is open. of thirty years earlier thanks to the economies of Gift of Henry and Virginia Pleasants, 1982 large-scale production; Broadwood was 1982.76 manufacturing about 400 squares and 100 grands annually in 1790s. Several innovations are present here: Additional keys running under the soundboard bring the 21 Grand Piano

John Broadwood, London, England, 1792 striking point at about one-ninth the length of the This crossbanded mahogany piano with boxwood strings gave his pianos a more uniform tone quality striping outwardly resembles the that from bass to treble. Broadwood also pioneered Broadwood's father-in-law, Burkat Shudi, had been around 1785 the use of pedals to replace making thirty years earlier; the style was preserved inconvenient hand stops. With some exceptions into the nineteenth century. At first English piano suchs such as a piano specially built forjan Ladislav builders also retained the harpsichord's light Dussek in 1789, FF-f3 remained the normal range internal framing, with the result that the pianos until 1793, when Broadwood finally stopped making often twisted under their strings' greater tension. A harpsichords and the piano was formally adopted by further shortcoming lay in the use of insufficiently the King's Band. seasoned wood as builders rushed to meet demand. Sturdier and having a wider dynamic range than Though in some respects structurally deficient, Viennese-type pianos, Broadwood's were Broadwood's pianos introduced important enthusiastically received by musicians such as advances. His novel grand actions, easily regulated Haydn, who borrowed Dussek's grand in 1791 and by adjustment screws, are of uniformly fine visited the factory in 1794. craftsmanship; they were made in batches by Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Jerome C. Neuhoff, 1957 specialists. Broadwood used a separate bridge for 57.134 the bass strings, allowing a more even distribution of tension between brass and steel wires and a more favorable striking point. His adoption of a 22 Grand Piano

John Broadwood and Sons, London, ca. 1808 buttresses between the pin block and the Broadwood was one of the first builders regularly to soundboard; the 1792 Broadwood has three. Both extend the piano's range beyond five octaves, pianos have three strings per note. A brass hitch largely to accommodate duets and transcriptions plate was installed in this piano to replace a that required additional treble notes. This grand has wooden rail that had cracked. an FF-c4 range and three pedals. The left pedal The influence of Broadwood's neighbor, the shifts the action sideways in two increments for una furniture designer Thomas Sheraton, is seen in this and due corde effects, while the center and right piano's satinwood crossbanding. The soundboard pedals lift the bass and treble dampers which divide and original strings were probably imported from at middle C. As keyboards grew beyond five octaves, Germany. A 6-octave piano similar to this was sent cases became correspondingly wider and pedals to Beethoven in 1817 as a gift from the firm. attached to the legs (as in no. 21) became awkward Gift of Irvin G. Schorsen, Jr. 1980 to reach. Here they have been centered below a 1980.428 fret-sawn lyre. More keys mean more strings and greater stress on a piano's frame. To counter the string tension which tends to pull the tuning pin block into the hammer gap, this piano has five steel

23 Grand Piano

John Broadwood and Sons, London, England, 1827 A lyre supports the damper and una corda By the second quarter of the nineteenth century the pedals, the latter shifting the action in two appearance of Broadwood pianos had changed increments determined by a latch in the right key considerably to reflect new tastes in furniture block. Six steel buttresses arch the hammer gap and design. This piano retains traditional cornice- three steel bars span the soundboard from the fronted natural keys, but these are significantly tuning pin block to the bent side. Broadwood was wider than in earlier Broadwoods though not yet so the first to use reinforcing bars in 1823 but only wide as those of the later Erard grand (no. 24). Plain patented them in 1827, two years after Erard rosewood has replaced crossbanded mahogany as received a similar patent. Heavy steel-reinforced the primary wood, and turned, reeded legs screwed internal framing permits this piano to have an open into the case replace the earlier Chippendale trestle bottom rather than a solid one that muffles the stand. A carved bracket at the right of the keyboard sound. The 78-note compass is an octave more than is a later addition. The keyboard protrudes from the the previous grand's (no. 22). front of the case and can be covered by a cylinder Gift of Stoddard Lincoln, 1972 fall holding the nameplate surrounded by inlaid 1972.109 brass ornaments. Egg-and-dart molding embellishes the edge of the lid and the bottom, continuing on the back. Knobs on the bent side secure the lid.

24 Grand Piano

Erard and Company, London, England, ca. 1840 is reinforced by longitudinal steel bars. Strings of The magnificent marquetried satinwood case of this the top 26 notes pass through a "harmonic bar," piano is unsurpassed in iconographie complexity. patented by Pierre Erard in 1838, that secures them Designed and executed by George Henry Blake, the firmly against the hammers' blows. The hammers Louis XV-style case bears the arms of the Foley are covered with felt, first used in place of leather family. The ornaments of colored woods, mother-of- by Henri Pape in 1826. pearl, ivory, and metal include musical trophies, Sébastian Erard is credited with having built the monkey musicians and other Rococo grotesqueries. first French piano in 1777. Patronized by the and bucolic and mythological scenes. Masks of Duchesse de Villeroi and Louis XVI, he ignored Diana, Venus, and other deities crown the separate guild rules that stifled initiative, and fled the gilded stand. Aeolus enlivens the pedal support, Revolution for London where he established the while Orpheus rests with his lyre on the central branch that built this piano. Beethoven, Chopin, stretcher. Mendelssohn, and Liszt played the firm's Obviously a costly showpiece, this piano was not instruments. It has been said that modern piano much played—ironically, in view of the Foley technique was founded upon the virtuosic potential motto, "That I may be of use." The tuning pin block of Erard's actions, but in the later nineteenth can no longer withstand full tension, so the piano century the company lost its technological lead and must remain a silent monument to aristocratic taste. the London branch was closed in 1890. The CC-g4, double-escapement action, invented by Gift of Mrs. Henry McSweeny, 1959 Sébastian Erard and refined by his nephew Pierre, 59.76 was the most advanced of its period. The basis for Ex coll.: Thomas, Lord Foley, Baron of today's actions, Erard's permits fast repetition by Kidderminster allowing the hammer to fall into striking position before the key is fully raised. The open-bottom case PLyiu.

Erard repetition action 25 Cabinet Upright Piano

Loud & Brothers, Philadelphia, 1831 differs in not being adjustable. Except for its Thomas Loud and his brothers Philologus, John, and misalignment it is nearly identical to those used by Joseph immigrated from London before the War of some English builders at the same time. Wooden 1812 and by the 1830s were among the nation's pedals control the dampers, una corda shift, and leading piano manufacturers and exporters. The ten horizontal swell shutters that enclose the back firm was responsible for six patents between 1827 of the case. The names of David Boggs and William and 1865. This upright in the form of a secretary Moore, members of the Society of Journeymen desk is typical of Philadelphia's richly decorated Cabinet-Makers, appear on the interior which is furniture. Carved, gilded scrolls support the keybed. veneered with bird's eye maple. Stencils and brass moldings enrich the rosewood Purchase, Rogers Fund, Funds from Various Donors, case. A cloth panel over the FF-f4 keyboard is Alice M. Hufstader Gift, Richard B. Kellam Gift, and flanked by candlesticks and surmounted by a the Crosby Brown Collection, by exchange, 1976. hinged entablature. Long wooden stickers transmit 1976.317.1 motion from the keys to the hammers near the top. Curiously, the action is out of alignment; the top key is not functional and the bottom one moves the FF-sharp hammer. Thus the piano permanently transposes up a half-step. Loud patented a transposing action in 1842, but the present one 26 Square Piano

Dodds & Claus, New York City, ca. 1791 natural tails and stained hardwood accidentals Thomas Dodds and Christian Claus immigrated instead of ivory and ebony, are cheap. The FF-f3 separately from London after the American keyboard omits FF-sharp. As in Broadwood's Revolution. Dodds claimed twenty years' squares (no. 20) from which this one is roughly experience as a keyboard maker and repairer in copied, tuning pins are arrayed along the back, but England; Claus, a German, had earned a British a spatial miscalculation displaced the lowest two patent for a keyed guitar. In 1789, when Congress pins to the right side. Originally there seem to have enacted protective tariffs to encourage local been three pedals operating dampers, mute, and a manufactures, Dodds supplied a piano for George rod raising the front lid flap for a crescendo effect. Washington's family. Two years later Dodds and The stand has been altered. Claus entered a short-lived partnership. Their From such modest, often slipshod beginnings, "newly invented" hammers and dampers appear in free of stifling guild regulations and peopled by this piano, which may be the oldest of New York immigrants of varied backgrounds, New York's manufacture extant. Its nameboard bears a patriotic piano industry gradually grew to dominate eagle. The mahogany case is signed inside by American production. Archibald Whaite, an immigrant apprentice who Purchase, The Crosby Brown Collection, by became a notable piano builder. exchange, 1978 Compared to Broadwood's pianos this one is of 1978.379 inferior quality. The materials, including pewter rather than brass underdamper levers, and bone 27 Square Piano

Charles Albrecht, Philadelphia, ca. 1795 This handsome Hepplewhite square has Philadelphia, with its large, music-loving German mahogany panels separated from contrasting population, was the cradle of America's piano borders by fine geometric stringing unusual in industry; Johann Behrent built the first recorded Philadelphia furniture. The maker's inscription is native piano there in 1775. Charles Albrecht, painted in gold on a pointed oval garlanded by presumably another German immigrant, is first flowers, centered on a crossbanded panel that listed in a 1791 directory as a joiner but his oldest extends on the sides of the ivory and ebony FF-f3 extant piano is dated 1789. This later example, serial keyboard. The precisely cut natural keys have number 24, is of English design, having a double deeply molded cornice fronts. The separate stand action and hand-operated dampers hinged to a has a crossbanded skirt cut up to accomodate the tilting panel in the back. This old-fashioned damper player's knees. system, earlier employed by Zumpe (no. 19), was Gift of Joseph W. Drexel, 1889 generally abandoned in the 1790s. Another 89.2.185 retrospective feature is the arrangement of tuning pins diagonally across the soundboard. Albrecht's 1789 piano seems more up to date; why he chose to regress is unclear, but Albrecht's eight surviving pianos exhibit considerable diversity. PI..m.

(^yf^gha^i/^fz^ s¿_^¿/¿>/s.s

English double action 28 Square Piano

Gibson & Davis, New York City, ca. 1815 front corners, embellished with satinwood inlays, This piano's handsome case has been attributed to rests on a trestle stand with reeded and foliate the workshop of Duncan Phyfe. His relative Isaac splayed legs supporting acanthus urns. A central leg Phyfe was identified as a piano maker in directories held the damper pedal. The FF-c4 keyboard has of the 1820s, and the builder John Geib, Jr. was stained accidentals and plain-fronted ivory naturals, associated with Duncan Phyfe's business around the the lowest being of extra width. The double action time this piano was made (a Geib piano is presently with adjustable escapement jacks, similar to the displayed in the Museum's American Wing). The kind patented by John Geib in 1786, strikes two Scotsman Thomas Gibson and his partner, Morgan strings per note. Davis, perhaps a native of Wales, immigrated from Gift of John W. Castles and Dorothea J. Castles, 1963 London and began to advertise here around 1802. 63.205 They remained partners until 1822. This piano has a colorfully painted nameboard with grilles at the ends of the flamed maple panel. The crossbanded mahogany case with rounded

29 Square Piano

Alpheus Babcock, Boston, ca. 1825 of the soundboard. Bass strings are wrapped with Babcock was apprenticed to the first native-born flat metal ribbon rather than wire to increase their American piano maker, Benjamin Crehore, who mass. modeled his instruments after imported English Babcock's most important improvement was a squares. Following the British taste, Babcock's one-piece cast iron frame, patented in 1825, that Regency-style pianos are virtually indistinguishable gave the square piano greater stability; this from the fashionable products of London makers permitted heavier stringing, higher tension, and a such as . This simple mahogany louder tone. Jonas Chickering, who employed the piano has a curved rosewood nameboard holding older Babcock in 1837, extended the idea to grand an engraved nameplate. The flat pedal lyre is pianos in 1843 and thus ushered in the modern age centered on a. stretcher between columnar legs with of piano design. gilded brass collars. The left pedal lifts the dampers, Gift of Mrs. Marion G Littig, 1922 the right raises a "harmonic swell" that allows the 22.112 strings behind the bridge to vibrate sympathetically; this device was patented in London in 1821. The FF- f4 keyboard operates a double action. The top seventeen hammers strike through a gap at the back 30 Square Piano

Stewart & Checkering, Boston, ca. 1824 behind the nameboard and under the key flap. The This well-preserved piano is one of the few extant soundboard is isolated from the case walls and products of a brief partnership between James extends the full width of the piano. Tuning pins are Stewart, a Scottish immigrant, and the native-born divided between the back and right side. The piano Jonas Chickering. Chickering, considered by is double-strung, bass strings being wound with a William Steinway to be the father of American piano double coil of wire. The double action has manufacture, started as a cabinet maker's apprentice adjustable escapement jacks and backchecks that and learned the piano craft from Benjamin prevent the hammers from bouncing. Crehore's protégé, John Osborn. These men, along Before he died in 1853, Chickering had begun a with Alpheus Babcock (no. 29), began the Boston huge factory with five acres of floor space. Under school of piano construction. This expertly built FF- his sons' direction the firm won a gold medal at the c4 piano rests on a bed of solid sugar pine over 1867 Exposition and introduced important three inches thick. The mahogany "tablet front" refinements. Chickering & Sons remained in family case is supported by machine-carved legs; the hands until 1908 and went out of business in 1982, carved lyre holds wooden damper and mute pedals. 160 years after Chickering's career began. The curved rosewood nameboard with brass Gift of Prof, and Mrs. J. P. DenHartog, 1984 striping incorporates an engraved nameplate framed 1984.610.1 in tulipwood. French mounts representing Juno are contemporary additions. Two music racks fold 31 Cylinder Piano

George Hicks, , New York, ca. 1860 which engages a simple upright action. Tempo Although Hicks advertised as a maker of cylinder varies with the cranking speed. Two brass bells pianos and organs, he might simply have assembled punctuate the music. Nine articulated papier-mâché them from parts exported by the Hicks family of figures move in time, and a tenth controlled by a , England, well-known manufacturers. The knob lifts a tray to solicit coins which he drops in a itinerant operators of these street instruments, trough. In New York, street pianos brought popular mostly immigrant buskers, were sometimes music within earshot of tenement dwellers and accompanied by pet monkeys. The rented pianos provided a welcome diversion. They attracted were periodically returned for maintenance and crowds that obstructed traffic, and were banned in renewal of cylinders when the tunes became 1885. hackneyed. Tunes were selected to appeal to The Crosby Brown Collection, 1889 listeners of different ethnic origins. German, Italian, 89.4.2048 and Polish tunes, as well as Yankee Doodle, are Ex coll.: Sarah Frishmuth, Philadelphia among the eight this instrument plays. The mahogany and stained pine machine has a range of nearly two octaves, diatonic but including F sharps. A hand crank rotates the pinned cylinder

32 Grand Piano

Steinway & Sons, New York City, 1872 America. Steinway's descendants made many This rosewood parlor-size grand, manufactured a technical and marketing innovations and the year after Henry Engelhard Steinway's death, is company remained in family hands until 1972. modem in most respects though it lacks the The impact of industrial technology on late sostenuto pedal Steinway adopted in 1874 and omits nineteenth-century piano design was profound. The the three highest keys normally found today. The efficient manufacture of thousands of piano incorporates many patents Steinway & Sons interchangable parts created economies of scale that developed between 1857 and 1872, notably an kept costs relatively affordable in a burgeoning improved cross-strung frame and a scaling design middle-class market. Industrial metallurgy produced that moved the bass strings to a bridge nearer the the high-tension wire and strong iron plates center of the soundboard for a more uniform required to sustain stresses of over 20 tons. The sound. A screw tension device maintains the consequent range of loudness appealed to soundboard's convexity. Because of its tonal and Romantic sensibilities and filled large concert halls, sustaining power the piano is suitable for quite though it served the intimate Classical style less large rooms. well. Steinway's pianos created a sensation in London The twentieth century has seen only minor (1862) and Paris (1867) and were soon being advances in piano design. This raises the question copied by European manufacturers. Despite their whether significant tonal and structural progress is superiority, grands accounted for only a sixth of the still possible, or whether the piano's development factory's output. Squares remained in production has reached a stalemate. until 1888, and after 1862 uprights accounted for a Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Robert P. Freedman, 1983 growing share. At the end of the century only N.A.11.1983 Chickering remained a serious rival to Steinway in

V